This Tainted Love
by Xonas
Summary: For a Heylin Prince bent on world destruction, he's not too bad...Hell, he's downright hot but there's just one tiny problem...We're on opposite sides...What's a Wind Dragon in training to do? Some deviation from canon and this is Chai fiction! (Chase x Raimundo) Don't like, don't read. Do like? Then hop aboard and enjoy the ride! Fic is officially on INDEFINITE hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

_**Xonas ~ Hey people! I watched the entire three seasons of the old Xiaolin Showdown and got the hankering to make a fanfic! A few years ago I did a fic similar to this but I was not happy where it was going so, I've changed a lot of stuff and made plenty of adjustments. I don't have the old original files so I'm making shots in the dark here. I'll make it up as I go and hope for the best! :3 **_

_**Progressive Chai! (Chase x Raimundo) Not much Chai fics around and it's one of the few yaoi pairings I'd actually sit, read **__**and**__** enjoy, so I'm helping the Chai ship sail~! Anyways, I'm not putting any other pairings in here. Also, Raimundo is not the Shoku Warrior in here as of yet.**_

_**BTW, a bit of canon and AU mixed up here. Special thanks to ****blackywinks66 for all her help~!**_

**DISCLAIMER- I do not own Xiaolin Showdown in any way. Xiaolin Showdown belongs to the awesomeness known as Christi Hui and Cartoon Network. **

"Human speech"

_'Human thought'_

**"Yelling"**

**_"Yelling"_**

**_"Elemental Attacks"_**

_This Tainted Love_

_Chapter 1_

Things were pretty quiet and peaceful, Raimundo mused as he continued his meditation in the temple garden. Here he felt truly calm. Here, Raimundo was one with his element.

He felt _free_.

After all the years of fighting evil, the threats had lessened (somewhat). Even recently, he and his teammates triumphed over every evil force that knocked on their doors. The Brazilian teen smirked softly at the thought. He still had some weeks left to choose his mission to become the Shoku Warrior and he was already overconfident…

Well…more so than usual…But that's beside the point.

However, before he could continue his meditation, a loud, familiar voice echoed through the temple.

**"LET'S GO KIDDIES! WE GOT A LIVE ONE! ****SHEN GONG WU ALERT!"** With his concentration (and nerves) now completely shot, Raimundo released a frustrated sigh before getting to his feet, stretching his tightened muscles and walking into the temple. Near the bedrooms of the Wudai Warriors, Raimundo found an annoying but amusing sight. There was Dojo Kanojo Cho, banging pots, pans and yelling at the top of his lungs at the three firmly shut doors.

_Did Rai forget to mention it was four thirty in the morning?_

Needless to say, Dojo was almost skinned alive, Kimiko was furious, Omi mixed up yet another slang and Clay was…well, Clay! The ride to Taipei was certainly an eventful one as the now 40 foot dragon got a rather lengthy lecture from Kimiko and surprisingly, Omi. Smiling to himself, Rai shook his head fondly.

"Yo gecko. What's the wu?" Dojo shot Raimundo a glare which in turn, made the Brazilian monk give a cheeky grin. No matter how many years had passed and no matter how many years _will_ pass, Raimundo is still Raimundo.

"Well, we get a find one get one free today, kiddo. Two wu activated at the same time!"

"Most interesting!" Omi replied as Kimiko tiredly dragged the sacred scroll from her mini backpack.

"Okay…" she paused and yawned softly. "The first Shen Gong Wu is something called the Dreamer's Scale. Sometimes referred to as the Dragon's Scale." Omi peered over her shoulder as Clay poked his head to her left.

"But Kimiko, it looks nothing like a dragon's scale…"

"You're right, Omi. It's like a scale you'd weigh food with or like…the scales of Justice. It's said that the Dreamer's Scale can completely erase someone's memory and give fake ones in return…You can even change what happened in a memory of your target!"

"That is most impressive!" Omi replied in wonder. "Does it do more?" Looking at the scroll once more, Kimiko nodded. "Yeah it does. Looks like the original memories you edit or erase are stored in the Scale and can be returned whenever the user desires!" the Tohomiko gasped.

"Whoa…That wu is pretty powerful…" Raimundo murmured as he looked at the clouds and mountains below. _'All of those attributes in one little wu?'_

"Hey, I remember that wu! I dunno why Dashi ever made it though…"

"What a dangerous Shen Gong Wu! We must not allow it to fall into the hands of evil!" Omi added worriedly as the mountains and trees were soon in sight.

"What else are we lookin' fer, Kimi?" Clay asked with his usual Texan drawl, snapping the dozing Tohomiko awake.

"Oh! Uh, sorry. Next we have the Phantom Heart…It can permanently change the target and their emotions…But…"

"_But_?" Omi repeated curiously. "But what, Kimiko?"

"The _'but'_ is because the scroll says it only works twice…Two shots and that's that." the Tohomiko shrugged as Omi grabbed the scroll to see.

"Ugh. What good is a Shen Gong Wu if it can only be used twice!? This is most grade!" everyone gave the cue ball a confused look.

"Uh, do you mean rank, Omi?" Kimiko guessed and his eyes lit up as he gave her the sacred scroll once more.

"Yes! That too!" at the front of the team, Raimundo rolled his eyes and smiled.

_'Some things never change!'_

"Hmm…Change the target _and_ their emotions?" Clay murmured, grabbing his friends' attentions. "Well I get changing the emotions part but…Change the _target_?" the tall southerner scratched his head as Dojo descended from the sky.

"Okay, if I used it on, say Rai…I could turn him into a girl and…make him fall in love with a frog." Kimiko laughed and soon Dojo, Omi and Clay joined in. The thought of Raimundo looking like a girl and kissing a frog was hilarious.

_Of course the Brazilian teen was not laughing._

"Ha, ha. Very funny." was his annoyed response as the green dragon landed in a large clearing and the four monks hopped unto the dew laden grass. Putting the scroll into her backpack once more, Kimiko gave another yawn and gingerly rubbed her eyes.

"Well Dojo? Where do we go?" Kimiko murmured as the dragon shook terribly.

"Ooh! N-not f-f-a-r! Head thata way!" the green dragon pointed, showing a nearby path. Curling up Raimundo's arm and relaxing on his shoulder, the monks began their trek.

Not very far away, a certain 'evil' duo was searching for the Shen Gong Wu as well.

"Urggghhh! Hurry up and find that wu, Jack! If I had my body I'd do this myself!" Wuya screeched as her formless…form floated near one Jack Spicer.

"Yeah well you don't have a body so quit complaining! Besides, keep it down! You're breaking my evil concentration." Wuya screeched in annoyance as she tried (and failed) to grab Jack by the hair. Rolling his red eyes and ignoring the witch, Jack continued his search. Seeing something glowing in the distance, he grew a mile wide grin.

"Jackpot! The Dreamer's Scale!" dashing towards the source, his hand found the wu, along with a larger, tanned hand. Raimundo smirked while Jack groaned lowly.

"Well if it isn't Jack Spicer!" said teen gave the monks a glare.

"Can't we schedule this showdown for another time? I'm a really busy guy and…"

"Jack, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

"Are you even listening to me-?"

"The game will be Find the Wu. First one to find the real Dreamer's Scale wins."

"Ugh, fine! Then I challenge you to a Shen Yi Bu dare thing…I wager my Jetbootsu and Monkey Staff against your…Wait, it's like five in the morning…What _do_ you have?" at this, Raimundo blinked and felt the extreme urge to slap himself.

_'Aye aye aye! Me esqueci! (1) I didn't grab any wu before we left!'_

"Uh, guys?" his friends each gave him a reprimanding look before checking their person. Kimiko came up empty and gave him a sheepish smile. _"Sorry!"_ she mouthed. Giving her a look himself, Rai turned to Clay. No dice. Even the Texan's seemingly bottomless cowboy hat had no wu hidden in it this time.

"Come on already! I got evil to do!"

"And you shall not be given the chance!" Omi declared as he fished through his robes. "Raimundo wagers the Falcon's Eye and Fancy Feet!" he grinned, throwing the wu to his teammate.

"Thanks, Omi! I owe you big time!"

"Can we just get this show on the road?"

"Fine by me, Jack!"

"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" as soon as the words left their lips, their surroundings began to change. The bushes grew, the trees rocketed in height and chunks of earth even floated high into the air. Every tree or bush had a version of the Dreamer's Scale but each had a slight difference. A tree seating the Xiaolin monks in their Wudai Showdown robes shot up and another tree also rose, housing one Wuya. On floating platforms stood Raimundo also in his Wudai Showdown robes and to his left was a scowling Jack Spicer. Glaring at each other, they each pulled out a wu.

**"GONG YI TAN PAI!"**

"Monkey Staff! Ooh wah ah!" Jack's features changed, now resembling a wild monkey, as he dashed off into the trees.

"Che! Fancy Feet!" Speeding through the treetops, Rai placed his other wu to his right eye. "Falcon's Eye!" frantically looking around, only fakes lay in his vision. As soon as he touched one, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Doing this for five minutes, the Brazilian monk felt annoyance wash over him. "Ugh! This is hopeless!" Leaping into the air, Raimundo spread his arms. _**"Wudai Star: Wind!"**_ sending the gust of air beating down on the trees, loud pops could be heard as the fakes disappeared. Flying through the air, Raimundo spotted more scales and released another gale of wind, dispersing the clones. This too continued for a while before he was sent flying with a hard blow. Dazed temporarily, Raimundo's back smacked harshly on a stiff tree trunk, making his friends wince with sympathy. Jack's annoying laughter filled the air as he continued in his search. Shaking the cobwebs in his head, Raimundo leapt into action, trying to make up his lost time. Spotting something from the corner of his eye, the Brazilian teen dashed to a large floating rock and found a glowing version of the Dreamer's Scale on a stone pedestal. Walking up to it, he reached for the wu but then paused. Looking around worriedly, the teen felt very wary.

_'Why is this so easy?'_ grabbing the scale, the surroundings flashed. Standing in the clearing with three extra wu in his arms, the brunette felt suspicion creep over him.

"Way to go, Rai!"

"Most excellent! That was quite speedy!"

"_Fast_, Omi…"

"That too!"

"Nice one, partner!"

"Not bad, kiddo. One down, one to go!"

"But…that was too easy…Why would Jack go through all this trouble to lose his Monkey Staff and Jetbootsu? He just scored a lucky move and dashed off…" Raimundo wondered aloud, as he and his friends mounted the now 40 foot Dojo and took to the skies. Shrugging, Kimiko stuffed the wu into her pack.

"Who cares? We still got the Dreamer's Scale and that's what counts." As Jack and Wuya watched the monks disappear, a devious grin marred their faces.

"Phase one went perfectly. Now to put part two into action!" the red head grinned before activating his heli pack.

* * *

-Chase Young's Lair-

"Is it done, worm?" Chase murmured with slight disgust as Jack cleaned his ears with his pinky.

"You betcha, Chase! They're headed for the Phantom Heart Shen Gong Wu as we speak."

"Good…Soon I will plunge this world into the darkness it was destined for…"

* * *

-Rio de Janeiro-

_"Rio?"_ Raimundo murmured with a grin as he and his friends looked down at the sparkling waves and white, sandy beaches below.

"Wow, Rai! It's so beautiful!" Kimiko gasped as the sun was just passing over the ocean, bathing the water in its glow.

"It is most wondrous!" Omi agreed with amazement as Dojo passed the large statue, Cristo Redentor (2). Raising an eyebrow, Kimiko pulled out the sacred scroll and searched it thoroughly.

"Wait…Dojo, the scroll didn't say where the Phantom Heart was…Why didn't you say the wu would be here?" passing over a rainforest, the green dragon grinned.

"Well, why didn't cha ask?" giving him a flat look, Kimiko rolled up the scroll and returned it to her bulging knapsack. A few minutes later, the dragon landed in the deep forest and his passengers set foot on the grassy ground. "Okay, kiddies. This isn't a field trip. Shen Gong Wu is…That way!" Dojo reminded as he pointed to their left. What greeted them was a path that seemed never ending. Looking at each other, they merely shrugged and began to walk, disappearing in the thick foliage.

* * *

"Aw jeez…I forgot how hot our rainforests were…" Raimundo muttered to himself as he wiped sweat off his brow and continued on. Smacking away leaves and small branches, the teen sighed. "How you guys doin' back there?"

…_Silence... _

"Uh guys?"

_More silence…_

Raimundo felt disbelief and annoyance as he stopped walking. _'Don't tell me…'_ turning around, all that he saw was green leaves and trees. Everything looked the same. "...They just _had_ to go get themselves lost! Hmm, nah. I got nothing to worry about...They'll be fine…" a sudden realization popped into Raimundo's head and he resisted the urge to groan loudly. "Dojo is with Kimiko! How will I find the wu now!?" kicking the ground in anger, Raimundo turned around only to get smacked in the face with a tree branch. "_Oww_!" rubbing his nose and looking up at the tree, green eyes widened as on the tallest, thinnest branch, hung a glowing silver chain with a purple and black heart locket. _'No way…'_ he thought with a grin. Pushing himself off the ground with a gust of wind, Raimundo hopped and swung from branch to branch. "Come to papa!" he grinned, managing to slip a finger around the silver chain…unfortunately, a gloved finger followed suit. Following it, the finger lead to an arm gauntlet and black sleeve. Then an armored shoulder. And, of course, it pointed to the smug smirk of one all too familiar Heylin warrior. "Chase!" said immortal only smirked.

"Well, well, well. I did not expect _you_ to be after this Shen Gong Wu, Raimundo." the Brazilian teen gave a frown.

"I could say the same to you, _lizard breath_. The less wu you get the better." Chase smirked as Raimundo shot him another dirty glare. Of course, the immortal Heylin warrior saw right through it.

"I guess there is one thing left to do, Raimundo. I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown and the contest will be a battle of martial arts. We shall wager no Shen Gong Wu. Whoever lands on their back or is thrown out of the ring, loses."

"Raimundo, don't!" the teen jumped as he turned and saw his worried friends below the tree.

"Guys!"

"Rai, don't accept it!" Kimiko yelled as she cupped her hands around her mouth "This is Chase Young! He's a Martial Arts _master_! Just leave the Phantom Heart! Forget about it!"

"Think this through, partner!"

"Raimundo, you must not accept!"

"Don't you guys get it? We're Xiaolin monks! We're _supposed_ to keep wu away from the Heylin side! I can't just leave the damn thing with _him_!" with finality and determination, Raimundo steeled himself for the worst. "I accept those terms, Chase Young!"

"Rai, no!"

"Very well…Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!" the scenery flashed and twisted as the trees grew and bent forward, forming a sort of protective dome. On the forest floor, a large, dry circle of earth spread. A line of grass surrounded it as Chase and Raimundo both entered the makeshift fight ring. Kimiko, Clay and Omi stood a few feet away from them in their Wudai Showdown robes with worried looks. This definitely wouldn't end well. Circling each other warily, the Dragon of Wind took a calming breath.

"Ready to lose, lizard face?" Chase smirked as he merely entered an unknown stance.

"Your arrogance will cost you, young monk." Frowning, Raimundo brushed the quip off.

"Let's get this over with…"

**"GONG YI TAN PAI!"**

Surprisingly, Chase was the one to make the first move, leaping forward with a flurry of powerful strikes. With determined emerald eyes, Raimundo dodged them all and quickly began a counter attack. Back and forth it went like an elegant dance as the two opponents fought tooth and nail within the ring. Kimiko and the others looked on in shock and awe.

_It could almost be considered beautiful._

You would expect Chase would have near impeccable grace with his moves, no matter how devastating they were and yet Raimundo would not be outshined. The accuracy and beauty of his moves was amazing. So much so that the three monks were speechless. They'd never seen the Brazilian teen fight so hard before. He just wouldn't give Chase an opening, a chance, a weakness. Nothing. His form was flawless.

"Is that really Raimundo?" Omi murmured, still stunned as he looked on with widened eyes. He was as gob smacked as his team mates. Perhaps even more so.

"I've never seen him fight like that before…" Kimiko added as the brunette continued to give his all, vehemently and stubbornly refusing to back down.

The dance seemed to go on forever but despite that there were many close calls on both sides. Chase leapt forward with a kick, planting his foot into Raimundo's chest and forcing him to cushion himself with wind. He'd barely avoided being sent out the ring. Chase was caught off guard as Rai feinted a left hook, suddenly crouching down and sweeping the villain's legs from under him. A surprised grunt escaped him and, acting quickly, he spring boarded from his hands. Flipping to his feet, the Heylin lord was shocked but he gave Raimundo an impressed smirk.

By this time, both opponents were sweating as their chests heaved. Not once breaking eye contact, they circled each other once more as an ache soon began to settle in.

"I…did not expect you to last this long…young monk…Let alone manage to strike me…" Chase smirked as Raimundo grinned. There seemed to be more to this Dragon of Wind than the Heylin immortal had bothered to realize.

"Don't…judge a book by its cover…_Chase_." Raimundo smirked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. In all honesty, the wind elemental expected to get his butt handed to him. What was he thinking? He can't fight Chase freaking Young! The man practically _created_ martial arts!

…Well maybe he was stretching it a bit but the man was good.

_Real_ good.

How was _he_, the last monk to make apprentice, holding his own? _And_ fighting back?

_'Hell, I'm giving Chase a run for his money!'_

"Well, young monk…" Chase started as he took another breath. "I do believe it is time we end this spar." Chase smirked, as he took up another pose yet again. Seeing this, Raimundo gave a grin.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Chase…This was fun, but I'm leaving with the Phantom Heart." _'Good god, that smirk of his…Stop! Now's not the time!'_

"Remember what I said before? Your arrogance will cost you." Chase was right in front of him now, smirking as always and before Raimundo could react, he was shoved out of the ring. "I win…" the all too familiar flashes lit up their surroundings as everything in the rain forest returned to normal and Chase stood victorious on the forest floor. Raimundo sighed as he lay on the wet grass.

_'I can't believe I lost…All because I up and got distracted…Damn Chase!'_ he all but cursed. _'Why does he have to look like that?'_ The other monks worriedly swarmed around the teen but he didn't even acknowledge them. All he could look at was Chase, something he was inwardly kicking himself for. But it was a good thing that he was looking…sort of…

Giving Raimundo an almost invisible but slightly sad frown, Chase Young looked at the wu once more before he disappeared. Blinking, Raimundo wordlessly rose to his feet and stared at the now empty spot.

_'Did he…'_

* * *

_-Xiaolin Temple-_

-Med Wing-

Raimundo sighed for the umpteenth time as the nurse dabbed a healing herb paste on his scratches and bruises, making him hiss lowly.

To put it bluntly…_it hurt like a mother…_

"Oi! **Oi!** _Easy_! Aren't nurses supposed to make a patient feel _less_ pain?" the red head gave him a scowl.

"If you would stay still, it wouldn't hurt so much!"

"Yeah but…"

"Zip it. From what I heard, you brought it on yourself …"

"…I guess the whole temple knows then…"

"What, about you having a martial arts showdown with _Chase Young_ or getting your ass handed to you by Chase Young?" Raimundo gave the hazel eyed nurse an irritated look. Applying more herb paste and wrapping his entire left arm, she pulled it tightly, grinning when she heard a slightly pained yelp.

"Hey, he didn't exactly leave injury free, you know!"

_"At least he could leave on his own…"_ the red head muttered and Raimundo gave her a frown.

"I heard that!"

"Look…" she interrupted. "I'm just worried, okay? You've become the little brothers and sister that I've never had…Sure, you're _supposed_ to fight the Heylin to protect the world and what not but…" the brunette raised an amused eyebrow as the nurse stopped wrapping his midsection.

"Wait…Don't tell me you're getting _soft_, J!" the woman glared and gave a pull of his bandages. Another pained yelp left Raimundo's lips and Jamie gave a satisfied smirk before continuing to bandage his midsection. His right side was really where the most damage was. The nurse could only imagine how much pain the teen was in, and that, in turn, hurt her. She hated to see the young monks hurt, especially _this_ Brazilian pain in the ass. _'Poor kid really took a beating…'_ J thought as she gingerly took care of the wound, wincing as she heard Raimundo hiss.

"Getting soft…" she repeated with a short chuckle, "As if, troublemaker. All I'm saying is you have to be more careful! Of all people, you fight _Chase Young_! You're lucky he didn't do _worse_! Jeez…You know if he wasn't evil things would be so much easier for you guys…" the brunette wind dragon blinked as his mind hatched a plan. _'I think I know what my quest is gonna be!'_

"J, did I ever tell you what a genius you are?" the red head finished his bandages and gave him a look.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing, nothing. Thanks for patching me up, Jamie. See ya!" Raimundo grinned and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Shaking her head, J put the supplies away before grabbing her bag. _'That kid is something else...'_ she thought as she left the med room. "Time for me to get some lunch." she grinned, remembering the pizza she had hidden away in the fridge. Walking down the hallways, her eyes glanced out the window only to see a nearby crow. The odd thing about it was it's green eyes and it was pretty unnerving if you asked her. "Creepy thing..." she muttered as she went on her way, not realizing the crow's eyes were still on her.

* * *

_-With Raimundo-_

Lying on his bed, Raimundo stared at the ceiling in deep thought. Running through the events of the day, one thing replayed in his mind over and over.

_That look Chase gave him before he left._

_'Why did he look at me like he __regretted__ winning? It was so weird...I think he even held back a punch or two...Chase could have beaten me a lot worse than this, but he didn't…' _ Without warning, his side pulsed with pain as if to prove him wrong. _'Okaayyy, scratch that last part. But still.'_ he mused, _'He didn't even kick me out of the ring or make me land on my back…He just gave me a shove and_ _left.'_ Raimundo groaned in annoyance. _'Does he have to be hot and confusing!?'_ he paused. _'I did __not__ just think that Chase Young was hot…Rai you don't have time for this! You should be thinking of how to do your quest!'_ deciding to debate the showdown later, the teen decided to focus on the issue at hand...that being his Shoku Warrior quest.

"Hmm…Well I _do_ want him to answer my questions about what happened today…Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone…" fiddling around under his bed, Raimundo gave a grin as he grasped something sharp. "Good old Tiger Claws…Only way to travel." the teen grinned as he placed the wu on his hand. "Hmm…Maybe I should carry the Dreamer's Scale…I could wipe Chase's memory of being Heylin! And I _might_ even get the Phantom Heart without a fight…" with his mind made up, the brunette brandished the wu. "Golden Tiger Claws." he whispered as he swiped the air and disappeared into the portal. Landing in the Shen Gong Wu vault, the wind dragon opened different drawers until he found what he needed. "Score!" he said, grabbing Dreamer's Scale. "Golden Tiger Claws!" swiping the air yet again, Raimundo jumped through the portal. His destination?

Chase Young's lair.

_**A/N: Careful, adventurers! Thar be a mighty helping of yaoi fluff over yonder!**_

* * *

_~Mountainside lair of Chase Young~_

Sitting on his throne, Chase twirled the recently acquired Wu in his hand. This little thing was the Phantom Heart? He had to say he was expecting more than this. Unwillingly, his mind wandered back to the Showdown he had earlier that day. Chase had no idea why but he felt…happy when he fought with the Dragon of Wind…He didn't want their 'spar' to end. Honestly, he had no idea the boy was so skilled and, surprising enough, Chase actually had a few sore spots from the hits he'd received. _'That boy…That Raimundo is most interesting…I wonder why he hesitated at the end of our Showdown…'_ shrugging it off, the Heylin immortal smirked as he felt an all too familiar presence enter his lair. "Well…speak of the devil…" he grinned. "You can come out of hiding boy, I know you're here…" making an exclamation of disbelief, one Dragon of Wind dropped from his ceiling and landed before the throne. Raimundo gave a visible wince and his knees buckled slightly before he brushed it off, making Chase feel slightly guilty.

"Didn't expect you to realize I was here…_I knew I should've brought the Shroud of Shadows_…" the man smirked as he rose from his throne.

"I didn't expect to _find_ you here, Pedrosa…If you want this Shen Gong Wu you can have it…I have no use for these trinkets." Chase murmured as he tossed the Phantom Heart to Raimundo, almost smiling at his stunned look.

_Almost._

Shaking off his astonishment, the brunette watched Chase from head to toe. "Alright, why are you being so nice? Are you sick or something? Well, besides your _usual_ sick and twisted tendencies…"

"Ah, of course…Aside from my _usual_ tendencies?" he smirked, making Inner Raimundo blush furiously. "Mind elaborating?" trying to keep his cool, the teen rolled his eyes.

"Well let's see, like oh I dunno, your obsession with Omi…Wanting to take over the world…Plunging said world into, and I'm just guessing here, oh an odd sum of ten to fifteen thousand years of darkness…Any of this ringing a bell there, lizard boy?" the immortal gave a small chuckle, making Raimundo's head spin.

_'Get a grip, idiot! Now is not the time to be a love struck schoolgirl!' _

"Something wrong, Dragon of Wind?" Chase smirked as he now stood before the teen, making him jump slightly. Shaking his head, the brunette took a couple steps backward.

"N-no." the teen cursed himself for stuttering. _'Keep it together, dammit! It can't happen!'_ calming the waver of his voice, Raimundo tried again. "…No I…I just want some answers…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah…Why were you being so…different when we started the showdown? You weren't even cheating…You were being fair and you pulled some punches too…You didn't even go all Godzilla on me! And what's with that look you gave me when you won?"

_'He saw that?'_ realizing this, Chase momentarily lost his composure, which did not go unnoticed by Raimundo. "Uh Chase?"

"So you know then..." the Heylin prince frowned as he slowly made his way over to Raimundo, who in turn started moving back. _'Okay, I do not like that look in his eye!'_

"K-know wh-what?" the teen sputtered as he continued to shuffle backwards. "I-I don't know anything!" Chase smirked as he grew closer and closer, grinning at the sensation of fear just _oozing_ from Raimundo.

"Oh? You _don't_?" Chase asked, his voice full of teasing sarcasm. Finding himself backed up against a pillar, Rai gulped.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! I really don't!-" the young Wudai warrior was cut off as a pair of lips found his in a rough kiss. _'W-what?'_ Chase smirked as he felt the teen weakly grip his arm. _'He's...!'_ snapping his eyes open, Rai shoved Chase off of him with a scarlet blush. "What the hell was that!?" came his raucous outburst. "What do you think you're doing!? Why did you-"

"Oh?" was his flippant murmur. "I was under the impression that you enjoyed it." Chase smirked, holding up the glowing Phantom Heart and at this, Raimundo's eyes widened.

"When did you..._Wait!_ You changed my emotions!" he declared, pointing directly at Chase. Snorting, the immortal twirled the still glowing wu around his finger.

"You monks don't know much, do you?" he deadpanned. "This Shen Gong Wu has a hidden ability. It allows the user to change someone and their emotions, yes, but it also gives the user the ability to _sense_ the emotions of whoever the target is." At this, Raimundo blushed even more. Slowly sliding down to the floor, Rai stared at Chase in shock.

"I-Impossible..."

"Oh it's very possible." Chase smirked, "And seeing as you _didn't_ just come here for a friendly little visit..." Chase paused, revealing the Dreamer's Scale he'd swiped, "I do believe some form of action is in order." at this, the Heylin Prince turned his back and looked at the many waterfalls in his throne room.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" a devious smirk crossed Chase's pale face at the stutter in Raimundo's voice.

"I will let you go." Raimundo froze.

"You..._what_?" facing the teen once more, Chase smirked.

"I will let you go." He repeated. "Shen Gong Wu and all. However I shall take the Phantom Heart. I believe it would be suspicious to your friends if you returned with it, correct?" tossing the Dreamer's Scale to Raimundo, Chase tucked the Phantom Heart away. Catching the wu, the Brazilian teen looked at it in shock, before looking at Chase.

"Wait, you're serious? Why? I came here to erase your memories of being Heylin! I was going to make you good again! Aren't you supposed to beating me senseless right about now?" chuckling softly, Chase got on one knee before the boy and stared intently.

"There will come a day when you pay for that, Raimundo...and we both know you'd rather I beat you senseless in..._other_ ways." He smirked, pleased at the immense blush on the boy's face.

"I...I...Y-you...t-th-that's…" wasting little time Chase stole yet another kiss, making Raimundo squeak at the sudden action. _'This shouldn't happen…It shouldn't but…but…'_ Throwing caution to the wind, Raimundo draped his arms around Chase's neck and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be swept away in his emotions. Chase groaned as the teen tugged at his hair before pressing his form against him. Raimundo just about _mewled_ as he tilted his head, teasingly denying Chase entrance when he swept his tongue across his lips. Growling as he wanted to keep his dominance, Chase roughly grabbed the teen's waist, making him give a small moan. Smirking, the Heylin prince let his tongue dart into Rai's mouth and was quick to claim it his.

_'…Wh-what am I doing? I shouldn't...'_ Raimundo lost his train of thought as Chase ran a hand up his uninjured side, making him give a delightfully sinful shudder. Chase growled yet again but stopped himself. He had a ways to go before making the dragon his.

Breaking the lip lock, the immortal smirked as Raimundo still had his eyes closed. _'And it seems he is already on his way.'_ Chuckling, he helped the cherry faced teen from the floor.

"Now then, young one, I think it's time you take your leave." it took a few seconds for it to sink in as Raimundo listlessly stared at Chase with his scarlet blush. Blinking as he seemed to snap out of it, Rai looked down.

"Y-yeah...Bye..." Raimundo murmured in a daze, gripping the wu tightly. Without another word the boy dashed from Chase's throne room like a bat out of hell. Jumping from the rock plateau outside, Raimundo channeled his element and rocketed to the cloudy night skies. _'What is wrong with me!? How could I even...' _digging through his blue hoodie pouch, he quietly pulled out the Dreamer's Scale. _'Why didn't I do it when I had the chance? Why did I let him kiss me!? Twice!'_ "This is messed up on so many levels..." he murmured, gently touching his lips. "He kissed me...He kissed _me_..." another blush marred the teen's face. "I kissed back..._I kissed back_!? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _Stupid!_" he frowned, hitting himself in the head. "Why did I let him do that!? Why?" touching his lips once more, Rai faltered. "Why do I have feelings for _him_...?"

_**TBC…**_

_**(1) Portuguese for "I forgot!"**_

_**(2) The Portuguese name for the statue, which in English is called Christ the Redeemer.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Progressive Chai! _**_**(Chase x Raimundo) Not much Chai fics around and it's one of the few yaoi pairings I'd actually sit, read **__**and**__** enjoy, so I'm helping the Chai ship sail~! Anyways, I'm not putting any other pairings in here. **__**Also, Raimundo is not the Shoku Warrior in here as of yet.**_

_**BTW, a bit of canon and AU mixed up here. Special thanks to ****blackywinks66 for all her help~!**_

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Xiaolin Showdown in any way. Xiaolin Showdown belongs to the awesomeness known as Christi Hui and Cartoon Network. **

"Human speech"

_'Human thought'_

**"Yelling"**

_**"****Yelling"**_

_**"****Elemental Attacks"**_

_This Tainted Love_

_Chapter 2_

~Xiaolin Temple~

"Has anyone seen Raimundo?" Jamie asked as she sat with the monks in the kitchen. They were all seated, enjoying breakfast and the nurse had been invited by Master Fung to have some tea or something to eat. Pausing to think, Kimiko stopped eating her baozi. (Chinese dumplings)

"Come to think of it, I haven't…He went straight to bed after you left, actually…He must probably still be asleep." snorting with a frown, J took another fried Jiaozi. (Yay more Chinese dumplings)

"Of course he is…Lazy little bum…" frowning, she finished off the little food she took and rose to her feet. "I have to check his injuries and bandages anyway so I might as well get him out of bed…"

"Heh, good luck there, ma'am." Clay replied in his usual Texan twang. "Raimundo there's harder to wake up than a sloth in a bucket full a water…" _**[A/N: I dunno. Please don't ask how this came into my head.]**_

"Ohh, yes! Raimundo is quite the light dreamer!"

"Heavy sleeper, kid." rolling her eyes, the red head left the kitchen and followed the hallways to the rooms of the Xiaolin monks. "Let's see…One…Two…Three doors down. This is it." knocking loudly, Jaime cleared her throat. "Get up already ya bum!"

…_No answer. Not even a snore!_

Feeling great annoyance creep over her, J began to literally pound on the poor door.

"Raimundo I said to **Get. Up!** Do _not_ make me come in there! I'll pull those bandages of yours, I swear!"

Still nothing.

Growing slightly worried, Jamie turned the door handle.

"Hey Rai? You in here?" peeking inside, the nurse was greeted to one Raimundo Pedrosa who was sleeping soundly in his bed. Feeling her eye twitch ever so slightly, she stalked to the teen's bedside. Gaining a sadistic grin, she leaned near his ear. "If you don't get up, there won't be any breakfast left…"

"Not a chance! Save some for me!" the brunette sped out of his bed and raced to the kitchen, making the nurse shake her head and smile.

"Works every time…" grinning, J left the room and firmly shut the door. However, she failed to notice the black crow that was perched nearby the window. With a short caw, the bird flew away.

* * *

_-5 days later-_

_-Training Grounds-_

The four Wudai Warriors stood before their sensei, Master Fung, who had Dojo perched on his shoulder.

"For training today, my young Wudai Warriors, you will be pit against each other in sparring exercises. You may be pit against the same opponent on more than one occasion since each sparring match will have different rules and regulations. For example...I can have Clay spar against Kimiko. The rules would be to only use hand to hand combat. Another way the match could be made would be the rule of only using Shen-Gong-Wu. Or perhaps training your other senses. Sparring blindfolded to hone your hearing." the elder monk explained, the young monks taking it in different ways. Kimiko and Clay seemed excited but a bit reserved. Omi, as expected, was extremely excited and intrigued. He wanted to begin right away however Raimundo...well he didn't seem to be paying attention at all. The Dragon of Wind appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. I'm pretty sure we can guess what this young one was thinking about...or _who_ for that matter.

"We kissed...We _kissed_..." his murmurs were intangible to the others as his mind continued to drift into that lovely haze. _'He...was worried about me knowing something...And he got weird when I told him about our match...about how he held back...and that look...that sad look...After that he just kissed me...'_ again, Raimundo's face grew red. _'Does it mean that he...? It can't be...'_ he denied before he became doubtful once more. _'But...he could have done anything to me...anything...and he let me go...'_ _"He just let me go..."_

"What was that, Rai?" Kimiko whispered, not wishing to be caught by Master Fung. Jumping slightly, the wind wielding teen was jolted from this thoughts.

"O-oh...Nothing, Kimiko..." he responded quietly, to which the Tohomiko heiress merely shrugged and turned her attention to Fung once more. Sighing inwardly, the now somewhat alert boy bit his lip. _'I gotta be more careful...if they found out...But...now what do I do? What happens next? He said he has no use for Shen Gong Wu but the Phantom Heart is still his...He could use it against us in a showdown...Or as a bargaining chip for Omi...Or he could mess with someone's emotions and get them to join the Heylin side!' _in his anger, Raimundo curled his hands to fists. _'This is all my fault...'_ a sharp feeling stabbed at his side, making him wince at the pain. _'Ugh...that one's taking forever to heal...'_ The one major wound he'd received from Chase in that showdown seemed to be the trickiest one. Yes, it'd only been five days since he'd gotten the wound but Raimundo had at least hoped that by now it would have begun to hurt less. A woozy feeling began to come over the teen, making him feel light headed. _'Mmh...Why is this one so painful…'_

"Raimundo you shall go first and face Clay." jumping at the sudden voice of Fung, the green eyed teen pushed the pain to the back of his mind.

"R-right…" raising an eyebrow, Fung gave Raimundo a worried look.

"Are you alright, young one? If you still need to recover, you can do so." frantically waving his arms, the wind user gave an almost forced smile.

"Ah, no, no. I'm ok. Super. I'm _totally_ ready."

"_Rai_…" Kimiko chastised.

"I'm good, really! I mean it!" still getting unsure looks from everyone, the brunette sighed. "Ok, ok how about this…If I can't handle it, I back out the second anything goes wrong. Come on, guys." looking at each other and mulling it over the other monks sighed.

"If you say so partner…" Clay relented as the others cleared the way for their upcoming spar.

* * *

-Chase Young's Lair-

Smirking as he lounged on his throne, Chase spied on the monks with his trusty crow. _'Poor Raimundo…'_ he thought with another smirk, _'Can't focus?'_ as if on cue, the Brazilian teen missed some simple attacks and had a spotty at best defense. It was almost pathetic. "It shouldn't be long now…I just need to be a little patient." Chase grinned as Clay quickly trounced Raimundo. Without much resistance or fight honestly. Exhaling loudly the Southerner walked over to his bent over teammate and extended a hand. "Need a hand there, Rai?" frowning deeply, the green eyed monk looked up and smacked Clay's hand away. Ignoring the stunned looks and gasps, Raimundo struggled to his feet and wandered off.

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped as he stalked off.

Smirking, Chase continued to watch his latest, and possibly future, ally. _'Shouldn't be too long at all…'_

* * *

-Timeskip-

-Xiaolin Temple-

_~Hidden Training Grounds~_

With a infuriated sigh, Raimundo ruthlessly smashed his fists against a wooden training post. He'd made this training spot separate from everyone else mainly for when he felt the need to get away. To just be one with nature and enjoy the calm silence. The waterfall nearby babbled as it tumbled over the huge rocks and into the clear pool. Contemplating on taking a dip, the brunette quickly thought against it as his side throbbed, as if to remind him. _'Right…Cold water and serious injuries? Bad idea…'_ he thought as he stopped punching the post, greedily sucking in air.

Just how long had he been doing that?

"Jeez…I come here to clear my head and I end up just tiring myself out! _Figures_…" Raimundo frowned as he leaned on the post before sliding down to the ground. Looking up at the evening sky, the teen sighed yet again before he bowed his head.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately…" green eyes snapped open and Raimundo quickly scrambled away from the post only to find Chase sitting atop it.

"What the-!? What are you even _doing_ here?!" the boy screeched, warily throwing a glance back in case of anyone looking for him. Chuckling, the Heylin prince let his elbow lie on his knee, propping his head with his hand.

"And here I thought you would be somewhat happy to see me." he teased, eliciting a blush from Raimundo, who began to sputter almost comically.

"A-and why's t-that? I'd nev-er be happy to s-see _you_!" smirking Chase hopped off the post and stalked forward. Yelping, Raimundo inched and backed away until he felt himself bump into a nearby tree. Chase's smirk grew as he placed a hand near the teen's head and leaned forward.

"Is that so…?" green stared into yellow and with flushed cheeks the wind user looked away.

"Y-yes…" he answered quickly before he sighed. _"…No…"_ he whispered with a tiny voice as he mentally berated himself. _'The hell am I doing!?'_ turning back, Raimundo's eyes widened even more as Chase moved even closer, if possible._ 'Forget that! What the hell is __**he**__ doing!?'_ without a chance to ponder more, Chase leaned towards the boy's ear.

"You're a really bad liar, Raimundo." he whispered in a sultry voice, sending a shiver down the monk's spine. Moving back a bit, Chase levelled Raimundo with a serious stare. "Tell me Raimundo...Are you truly happy here?"

"Wh-wha...Of course I am!" Rai snapped almost immediately, making Chase give a small smirk.

"You really are a terrible liar..." at this, Chase grew serious once more. He almost looked sympathetic. "We both know you aren't being honest, Raimundo." looking down, the Brazilian bit his lip and screwed his eyes shut.

"What does it matter..." he murmured sadly, looking at Chase with pained green eyes. "And why do you even care anyway? In case you forgot you're _evil_, Chase! No matter what you say that isn't ever going to change-" Raimundo's rant was cut short as Chase quickly shut him up with a searing lip lock. A deliciously surprised squeak left the teen as Chase gently grabbed his hips, sweetly holding him in place. As if it were all a dream, the hands gently holding him and the sweet lips against his were suddenly gone leaving Raimundo merely grasping at the air. Breathing deeply with flushed red cheeks, the teen raised a trembling hand to his lips as he slid down the tree trunk.

_"Well why don't you change me?"_

Blushing even more, Raimundo twisted his head this way and that to look for the Heylin lord but he was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, Raimundo hugged his knees to his chest. "But what if I _can't_…" he thought, faintly remembering a weird dream. Chase was good…Omi had somehow stopped him from drinking the Lao Mang Lone soup but Master Monk Guan took it instead…Even then he'd let his emotions get the better of him…Raimundo decided to drink the soup instead…to save Chase but he…he couldn't handle it.

_He was a monster…_

Shaking his head, Raimundo closed his eyes. _'It was just a stupid dream…'_ "Pff.." he snorted. "More like nightmare…" at this, his head snapped up. _'Was Chase even here? W-was it a dream? But it was so…so __**real**__…'_ he touched his lips once more. "_Too_ real…And I don't even remember falling asleep…" sighing yet again, the wind user got up and dusted his pants. Blinking, he froze. "I really _am_ doing that too often…" Groaning he furiously shook his head. "That's it! _**That. Is. IT**_! This is just way too much! Injury or not I need to cool off…" taking off most of his clothes and his underlying bandages, Raimundo slowly eased himself into the water. A shiver went up his spine but he smiled when it did. Hey, he wasn't a fan of cold water but it was nice every once in a while. Sighing in relaxation as he was now up to his neck in water, Raimundo let the flow of the pool and the crashing of the waterfall soothe his frayed nerves.

_He really needed this after all._

Ducking his head under, Raimundo relished deeply in the cool waves and small currents that flowed over him. He'd never felt so serene in his life, to be honest. Well…the times he was around Chase counted too, right? Narrowing his eyes, Raimundo refused to think of him. _'This is __**me**__ time so Chase can go suck it!'_ Looking up from under the water, the sunset painted sky greeted him in all its glory. Coming back up, the teen gave a calm exhale before simply choosing to float on his back. Closing his eyes, a serene smile graced the teen's face as he floated for what seemed like hours.

He was truly at peace…

_Until the temple gong rang…_

Green eyes snapped open and Rai flailed in the water before scrambling to the edge of the pool. "The gong!? An attack!" hurriedly pulling on his clothes, Raimundo bolted off.

_'I hope I can make it…'_

_**TBC…**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Progressive Chai! (Chase x Raimundo) Not much Chai fics around and it's one of the few yaoi pairings I'd actually sit, read **__**and**__** enjoy, so I'm helping the Chai ship sail~! Anyways, I'm not putting any other pairings in here. Also, Raimundo is not the Shoku Warrior in here **__**as of yet**__**.**_

_**BTW, a bit of canon and AU mixed up here. Special thanks to ****blackywinks66 for all her help~!**_

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Xiaolin Showdown in any way. Xiaolin Showdown belongs to the awesomeness known as Christi Hui and Cartoon Network. **

"Human speech"

_'Human thought'_

**"Yelling"**

_**"****Yelling"**_

_**"****Elemental Attacks"**_

_This Tainted Love_

_Chapter 3_

~Xiaolin Temple~

"Hannibal Bean!" Kimiko sneered as she and her fellow monks stood in formation some distance before the Shen Gong Wu vault. Said evil bean was smirking as he stood atop the Ying Ying Bird, his tentacles? Arms? T-things…let's go with things…his tendril like things folded. The bean leered down at the teens, giving them a superior grin.

"If it isn't the Xiaolin Chumps!" he grinned before he gave a face of mock surprise. "Oh looks like you're one chump short! Where _is_ our little Raimundo anyway?" he cooed wickedly before throwing his head back with a roaring laugh. However the cackling bean failed to notice a change in the air or the wide smirk on Kimiko's face.

"Why don't you turn around and find out?" before the bean could ponder this more, a heavy gust of wind smacked against him and his bird, sending the duo plummeting to the dusty grounds below. Landing before the monks with a slight skid, Raimundo threw up some dust and grinned.

"Looks like I made it to the party after all!" at this, Clay gave a snort.

"Not much of a party with this snake in the grass!"

"That is very true, Clay…however…" Omi cut in suddenly. "Raimundo…why were you so late to get back? I know we must all lick our wounds after humiliating defeats but-" choking, Raimundo's form froze momentarily.

"Not now! Now is _s-so_ not the time, Omi!" Raimundo faltered at the momentary glance of Hannibal. It was quick and disappeared soon after but the teen _knew_ he saw it. _'No way! He couldn't know about…'_

"Tut tut, Raimundo! Getting distracted before the enemy! Why I could just traipse on by and get all your Shen Gong Wu!" Hannibal grinned at the brunette. Giving a low growl, Raimundo glared the bean down.

"You're not getting our wu, _bean_!" _'If he is after the wu then why go for a frontal attack? Unless…'_ the teen's eyes widened in realization. "Damn it, it's a trap!" as soon as the words left Raimundo's lips, an explosion rocked the wu vault and sent smoke billowing into the night air. The minute the monks looked back Hannibal grinned.

_'Checkmate!'_ "Moby Morpher!" whipping their heads back, the teens had no time to react as the now larger Hannibal slammed his tendril like things (yeah I'm still running this gag) into the ground. In an instant, each young monk was trapped in an extension of the original tendril.

"Gah! I…can't…move!" Kimiko gasped as she struggled as hard as she could but just couldn't get free. None of them could.

"As an added incentive…" Hannibal grinned as yet _another_ tendril brought out a marble statue of a priestess. (1) "Lady of Divine Protection!" the bean grinned as the priestess' eyes glowed blue and it spread down the tendrils. Glaring as the monks now struggled even more, Clay growled.

"What did you do, you underhanded rat?" Hannibal grinned even more.

"Oh just a little something special is all…"

"Why you!" Kimiko growled, trying to burn the tendril yet nothing happened. "Wh-what just…"

"See…the Lady of Divine Protection does just what the name says, cupcake." Hannibal teased. "It _protects_."

"You conniving, little…Let us go!" Raimundo raged as he and the others tried and tried to get free. _'Wait a minute…'_ Raimundo froze. _'Is it…It is! Mine is slacker than before! I can get out of this easy-'_ his brows furrowed. _'This is a trap…he wants me to escape but…why?'_ narrowing his eyes the wind user glared at his shoes. _'Forget this! I'll burn that bridge when I get there!'_ "You're gonna regret that one, _bean_! Wudai Star: Wind!" glaring at the evil doer, Raimundo let his element flow, pushing the tendrils back enough for him to get free.

"Why you little…!"

"Time for you to go, Hannibal!" as Raimundo geared up to send the bean flying another, albeit louder, explosion came from the wu vault, sending tremors throughout the temple.

"Raimundo, go! We'll take it from here!" Kimiko gave him a grin. Biting his lip, the Brazilian paused before giving a nod.

"Okay!" without another word, Rai took off running.

* * *

-Shen Gong Wu Vault-

"Heh ha! This is just _too_ easy!" Jack grinned as he went from box to box, gleefully swiping every wu he laid eyes on. His Jack-Bots were on the higher level wrecking things and making explosions loud enough for the trap to work. At least he _thought_ they were…It wasn't this quiet a second ago…

"Oh shut up and get the wu, Jack!" Wuya hissed, "We don't have much time!" turning around with a smug grin, Jack stuffed more wu into a large sack and walked down to the other boxes. Waving her off, he gladly took the mystical objects.

"It's fine, Wuya! The plan is absolutely fool proof!"

"Is it now?" a familiar voice chimed and Jack gulped as he stood rigid in fear. "Well…I _do_ see a fool…" Raimundo frowned as he stood at the vault entrance, leaning on the wall with folded arms. Jack squealed at his arrival and jumped, nearly dropping the sack of wu in the process. Giving a threatening grin as he cracked his knuckles, the Brazilian stalked forward. Whimpering even more, Jack began to shrink back in response. "Would you believe I was having a nice dip in a _waterfall_ before all this? I was so calm and everything was just so _peaceful_…" laughing weakly as he shuffled back even more, Jack hid his hands behind his back and secretly pressed the watch on his wrist.

"U-uh…Well you see…I um…"

"Ugh, you are such a waste, Jack!" Wuya snarled as she decided to take matters into her own ghostly hands. (see what I did there? keh) Flying forward the witch phased through Rai's chest, giving Jack a long enough distraction to shoot past him and out the inner vault. Wuya gave a wicked cackle on her way out and Raimundo couldn't help but shudder.

"Gah…I _hate_ that!" shaking it off, he rushed up the stairs only to get slammed into the wall from a ferocious kick. Groaning as his side throbbed, Raimundo grasped at it gingerly.

"Who's the fool now?" Jack chortled as Rai's attacker, the Chameleon bot, began laughing along with him. Slowly getting to his feet, Raimundo held a hand to the wall and it took all he had just to stay upright.

"You aren't getting our wu…I won't let you…" Jack gave another boisterous laugh as he turned to leave with the sack over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, champ! _Sure!_" he teased and having just about enough Raimundo narrowed his eyes.

_**"****Wudai Star: Ascender!"**_ (2)

* * *

-Xiaolin Temple-

Jack screamed as he and the Chameleon bot sailed through the night air and landed smack on the dusty temple grounds. The sack of wu tumbled from his grip and landed innocently as well but not one artifact fell out of place. Leaning heavily on the doorway, Raimundo still tightly held his side and groaned as he felt another twinge. _'Great…That stupid bot got me good…I dunno if I can handle this by myself even if it is just Jack…'_

"That was so not cool!" Jack whined as he got up and dusted his clothes. Looking around, he noticed the bag a few feet ahead and practically screeched. "My wu!" at this the pale 'Prince of Darkness' raced forward.

"_Your_ wu?! Oh I don't think so!" Rai frowned, barely getting past the bot. Jumping into the air with a little help from some wind, the teen sailed over Jack's head and managed to get a hand on the bag just as Jack did.

"Aw come on!" the bag glowed.

"You know what that means, Spicer! I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" groaning, the red head threw his head back.

"Ughhhh! Fine! I don't have any wu on me so we just won't use any!"

"Hmph. Fine then. The game is-"

"Ohh no! _I'm_ gonna decide cause last time you got to."

"Like it matters, you baby! Just go already!" Raimundo snapped, wincing as his side throbbed again. Catching a quick glimpse of this, Jack realized that through their entire confrontation Raimundo was either holding his side or could barely stay upright. Especially after that kick from Chameleon bot. At this, the evil boy genius gave a grin.

"Alright then fly boy, you asked for it! The showdown will be Scale the Wall! The 'wall' will be your wu vault and whoever gets to the top gets _all_ the wu! Any means necessary." cursing under his breath, the Brazilian teen gave a groan.

"Fine!"

"Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!"

Accompanied with the usual flashes of light the Shen Gong Wu vault shot up in height as vines, moss and who knows what else latched onto the stones of the tower. An unsettling fog rolled in, swathing the tower and making everything look that much creepier. The showdown had an ominous feel as Raimundo was now in his Wudai robes along with his friends and they were now situated on a now much taller building. Hannibal, Ying Ying, Wuya and the Chameleon Bot now stood on another heightened structure and the bag of Shen Gong Wu floated at the top of the vault, bathed in a golden light. Glaring at each other, Jack and Rai were raring to go however Rai was rightfully put off.

_'This…really doesn't feel right…Can't do much about it now though…'_

"You ready to get beat _again_, Spicer?" at this, Jack scoffed.

"In your dreams, fly boy! Those wu are mine!" gingerly rolling his shoulders, Raimundo gave a semi genuine smile.

"Yeah, I doubt it…"

"Look, whatever! Let's just go already!" the 'evil genius' frowned and Rai couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Fine by me, Spicer."

**"GONG YI TAN PAI!"**

"HA! See ya, _loser_!" Jack chortled, activating his heli-pack. "No rules, chump!" smirking, Raimundo crouched slightly.

"No rules eh…_**Wudai Star: Blazer!**_" (3) grinning as he quickly soared, Rai jet past Jack like a speeding bullet and sent him spiraling into the hard wall. Flailing as he began to plummet, Jack desperately held onto a jutting block of stone.

"H-hey! That's not fair!"

"_You_ said no rules, Spicer! Don't go backing out on me now!" Rai teased as he looked down with a grin. Of course per his usual style, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and flew smack into another block. "OW!" rubbing his head with a wince, something cold and almost disgustingly _slithery_ suddenly plopped onto his shoulder. Going absolutely rigid, every nerve in Rai's body was ice cold as he slowly turned his head and looked at his left shoulder. As if a normal occurrence, a green eyed, yellow and black scaled snake was practically _lounging_ on poor Raimundo's shoulder. The teen swore if it had hands, the damn thing would have up and waved hello. Taking every drop of his restraint to not yell his head off, the young monk gingerly summoned a little wind and lifted the reptile off his shoulder. Shuddering deeply he cut the wind supply off, almost snickering at the near instant echo of Jack's girlish shrieks.

**"SNAKE! **_**SNAKEEE**_**! GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF ME, GET IT **_**OFFFFF**_**!**" Jack's squealing continued as he now frantically flew about, barely dodging the protruding stone and ropey vines. From their 'spectator's area' Wuya couldn't help but do a ghostly face palm as Jack's screams quickly traveled through the air. Because of the fog much of the showdown could not be seen but from the sound of things, the pale 'genius' wasn't doing so good.

"Alright! This must mean Rai's in the lead, right?" Kimiko cheered as the monks still tried to see the showdown from their own section but to no avail.

"Hmm. This could be, Kimiko but this fog is so thick I cannot see anything!" Omi added, furiously swiping his hand as if to clear his vision.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait it out and see who wins but it sounds pretty lively up there." Clay chuckled as one final yelp from Jack floated into the air.

"Ah well, whatcha gonna do huh?" Dojo shrugged as he popped out from under the cowboy's hat, much to the surprise of Kimiko and Omi.

"Dojo!?"

"Dojo, you were here all this time? Why did you not say something?" Omi frowned as Kimiko shook her head and sighed.

"Well err…you see…I fell asleep…" the dragon admitted, causing Clay to give a bark of laughter.

"What A Dojo!"

* * *

Raimundo sighed as the trip up the tower seemed almost never ending. Poor guy felt like he'd been climbing for days. _'At least there weren't any more snakes…Eugh…'_ Rai almost shuddered again but put it in the back of his mind. _'Is that the…'_ a soft, golden glow was emanating from a good way up and even with the dense fog the Dragon of Wind could make it out. _'I think it is!'_ Raimundo gave a relieved sigh as everything seemed to be just about over. Hastily reaching for the next mossy brick, Raimundo froze as a devastating pain bloomed from his side. **"AAAGH!"** in that instant, his hand slipped from the moss and Rai began to fall. Not even getting a chance to summon some wind, his side slammed into a protruding platform.

_Hard._

Time seemed to freeze as the pain increased immensely and all the teen could do was bite his lip til it drew blood.

_It was a wonder that he was still conscious at all._

Breathing harshly as he still lay on the platform, he heard the telltale sound of mini blades and seconds later one worse for wear Jack Spicer appeared. Sadly, still as cocky as ever.

"Well look what the vines dragged in!" Jack taunted, not thinking twice of Raimundo's dirty glare.

"…Shut…up…Mama's…Boy…haa…haa…" he forced, still heavily breathing to try and manage the pain. Groaning, Raimundo could barely lift his head to glare at the pale boy and with an infuriating smirk, Jack went a little closer.

"What do you know, _Rai_!" he teased. "Guess those _are_ my wu after all!" cackling as the realization finally began to sink in, Jack turned and flew up. Clenching his fist, Rai choked as his eyes burned.

"…Damn it…No…_no_…" _'I…lost…'_

Grabbing the sack, Jack grinned. **"I WIN!"**

* * *

-Chase Young's Lair-

Looking on with his spying eye Chase smirked within the shadows as Raimundo finally passed out_. 'No, worm…__I__ win…'_

* * *

_**TBC…**_

_**(1) Lady of Divine Protection is a wu of my own that I made for this. Basically, it can both protect the user and repel/nullify any attacks mounted against the wu's owner.**_

_**(2) Wudai Star: Ascender is just Rai is doing a flying tackle with the usual attack but with Ascender, he pumps in more wind for speed and sharpens his wind like a blade.**_

_**(3) Wudai Star: Blazer is basically like Wudai Star: Wind but with this new variation Raimundo flies five times faster and in this state he can also go intangible. **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Progressive Chai! (Chase x Raimundo) Not much Chai fics around and it's one of the few yaoi pairings I'd actually sit, read and enjoy, so I'm helping the Chai ship sail~! Anyways, I'm not putting any other pairings in here. Also, Raimundo is not the Shoku Warrior in here as of yet.**_

_**BTW, a bit of canon and AU mixed up here. Special thanks to blackywinks66 for all her help~!**_

_**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Xiaolin Showdown in any way. Xiaolin Showdown belongs to the awesomeness known as Christi Hui and Cartoon Network. **_

"Human speech"

_'Human thought'_

**"Yelling"**

_**"Yelling"**_

**_"Elemental Attacks"_**

This Tainted Love

Chapter 4

_-Chase Young's Lair-_

"How tragic…" Chase muttered as the showdown ended and the monks rushed to Raimundo. Seeing the pained look on his unconscious face, the immortal couldn't help but frown. _'Perhaps his wounds are worse than I thought…'_ the Heylin prince's features soon darkened._ 'Moreover, he should have healed by now…'_ with his mind set, Chase gave a short but piercing whistle and soon after his crow appeared. Addressing the bird, the man clearly meant business. "Stay hidden but keep your eyes on our Dragon of Wind." with a caw, the crow flew off. "I have a visit to make…"

* * *

-Xiaolin Temple-

-Med Bay-

Jamie sighed as she tenderly wrapped Raimundo's arm. From what the teen could manage through clenched teeth, he'd pulled it on the climb up the Wu Vault in the showdown.

"The others hate me…" the Brazilian muttered, soon gaining the nurse's attention. The woman sighed as she gingerly hugged the teen.

"It'll be alright…Just give 'em some time, kiddo." Rai sadly shook his head.

"It won't be alright, J…I lost every wu we had…Every one of them…And to _Spicer_…"

"Yeah, but…"

"I don't think I can take them hating me, J…" he frowned as the nurse moved to check his side. "I just can't…"

"I know, kid…I know…" sighing, she wrapped the last bandage and gently pat the teen's knee. "Get some rest…They'll come around…Really." giving him a final glance, J packed up and left the med room.

-Hallway-

Breathing deeply as she leaned on the door, the woman frowned. _'At least he didn't pick up on how livid I am…How could they do that to him? Those little brats-!'_ Remembering how the monks just tore the kid a new one earlier made her anger return with a vengeance. Fung and Dojo couldn't even get a word in edgeways and Jamie was stunned to realize that they actually agreed with the other monks…And poor Raimundo…At this, her heart broke.

_'He just sat there and took all of that…'_ The woman paused as she heard a familiar sound and soon she'd figured it out. J mashed her teeth as she heard said monks in question. Said monks who seemed to be carrying on without a care in the world.

"Oh ho, I'll make 'em care…"

* * *

_-Xiaolin Temple-_

_-Training Grounds-_

Running and zipping across the training setup of the usual mechanical crocs and what not, Omi cheered as he crossed the finish line.

"Ha ha! I have cut off five seconds from my record! Beat that!" Kimiko snickered at the shorter monk.

"It's _shaved_, Omi. Not cut off!" she teased.

"Oh! That too!" chuckling, Clay decided to throw his hat in the ring.

"Now Omi, I reckon I can beat that record."

"Oh, I bet you could…" Jamie replied, the trio flinching slightly from the intrusion. "Well…" she started calmly. "You all seem to be having fun…"

"Oh hey there, Jamie!" Kimiko chirped. "What's up?"

"_What's up?_" the woman echoed as her short fuse just got shorter. "The only thing _'up'_ is my temper…" the nurse scowled. "How can you just prance around here after what you did?" the monks looked at each other in confusion.

"Miss Jamie, what are you speaking of?" Omi asked and he seemed genuinely curious. This, however, only made the nurse angrier.

"What do you think, kid? How could you three go and kick Raimundo when he's down, huh!?" at this, Kimiko quickly stepped in.

"Hold on there, we did not kick him when he was down! He lost all our wu! To _Jack Spicer_!" the heiress retorted. "What were we supposed to do? Bake a cake and baby him?!"

"Kimi's right there, ma'am." Clay added sheepishly, withering a little under Jamie's smoldering glare. "I mean no disrespect or nothin' but Rai really fell in it this time. We couldn't exactly baby 'im."

"No, but you didn't have made him feel worse about it!" the nurse snapped, silencing the trio once more. "If I heard it right, Dojo said you sent Rai to the wu vault Kimiko. Hannibal had you three in a jam, yeah?"

"Well that's true, but…"

"He was the only one who could have fought Jack at the time and wounded or not he fought as hard as he could. He had to scale the damn _Wu Vault_ for Christ's sake." Jamie paused, trying to control herself.

_Evidently that wasn't going too well..._

"We know, but…" the woman cut Omi off without a second thought.

"Oh you _know_…Excuse me." she snarked. "Since you _know_ so much then please enlighten me. Did you know how torn up his side was after that showdown with Chase? Did you know it only got worse with him pretending it was okay during training and worse than that when Spicer had his stupid bot go after him?! Did you even have an inkling to the real extent of the damage after that Showdown!? You three should be ashamed!" the three monks stood in a stunned silence as a sick feeling settled in their stomachs.

She was right.

Jamie was absolutely right...

It was always like this. They never gave Raimundo the benefit of the doubt…Even if he didn't need it…

He'd never get a chance...

"Never did I think you three would…" Jamie frowned, glaring the teens down. "Can you believe that kid isn't even mad with you? Not even a little! He's sitting in that Med room blaming _himself_! He thinks that you hate him! _He_ hates him!" she frowned. "I am _so_ furious! Oh! I could just _throttle_ you!"

"Jamie." Fung called, cutting off the nurse's tirade. "That is enough…" looking back, Fung stood nearby with Dojo on his shoulder and Jamie scowled at the man but remained quiet. Shooting the three teens a glower, she walked off and stopped beside Fung. Taking a breath, the nurse tried, _and failed_, to calm herself before giving up on it entirely.

She was too damn pissed to even consider the notion.

"Jamie-"

"Look, Fung…" the nurse was quick to cut the older man off. "If this is what a team is, then I don't want to be involved and Rai shouldn't be either. I know a nurse doesn't really have a say, but just humor me, hm?" without even waiting for a response, the red head marched off.

_-Timeskip-_

_-Xiaolin Temple-_

Sneaking out the temple was surprisingly easy, Raimundo mused. _'Almost too easy…'_ the teen shook the thought away. "No time for that now…" he muttered. "Jaime would kill me but...time to pay one pasty faced evil doer a visit…"

* * *

_-Jack Spicer's Lair-_

"Ha ha! What a _jackpot_!" Jack snickered, his eyes glistening as he stared at all the wu in his possession. Beside him, Wuya cackled.

"Well done, Jack! I must admit I didn't think you had it in you but now the Xiaolin monks have nothing! Their wu are mine! Ah, I mean _ours_." the witch was quick to fix her mistake.

"Nice try, Wuya but these babies are mine. I won em fair and square."

"So sorry to interrupt this _lovely_ little conversation but...I think you mean _mine_..." Jack froze. "Besides, that's not how I remember it." a third voice called, making the red head give a feminine shriek. Whipping to the entrance of his 'lair' one Dragon of Wind stood with folded arms. The teen had a threatening glower pointed at Jack and said 'genius' quivered.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" the boy stuttered. "If it's for my wu y-you can just forget it! Security Bots-!"

"Not this time, Jack." Raimundo sneered as he kicked the severed head of a robot forward. Jack gave an odd whine and stumbled to the head.

"What did you do!? He was my favorite…"

_"What did you do!? He was my_ _favorite_…Jeez, do you _always_ whine like that?" the young dragon mocked as he stalked forward and this, in turn, made Jack scurry back. "Why don't we talk about what you did?" Rai scowled, furiously leering down at the pale evil doer.

"M-me?" he choked.

"_You_…You single handedly managed to worm your way into our vault and let Hannibal Bean distract us but the end game was to lure me, wasn't it..." at this, Jack's eyes widened. "_What_? Didn't think I'd figure it out?" Rai sneered. "See the thing is...Hannibal let me go too easily. His grip just _suddenly_ got loose for me and yet the others were still locked down tight? You guys _seriously_ give yourselves too much credit. It was pretty obvious, Jack. Hardly what I'd call clever." Jack frowned as he got to his feet.

"B-big deal!" he scoffed before it morphed into a smug grin. "It still worked, didn't it?" Raimundo snarled and his hand curled into a trembling fist before he narrowed his eyes.

_"A little too well…"_ he muttered as he advanced once more and Jack bumped into his 'world domination' table. The pale teen twitched at Rai's words.

"What…what do you mean?"

"You're smart, Jack I'll give you that but…you aren't conniving...diabolical...scheming...hell, you aren't downright evil to your core...only _one_ person could've planned this out Jack and we both know it wasn't you..." Jack frowned as he fumbled underneath the table.

"Doesn't matter really…" he smiled a little. "'Cause knowing won't do you any good! **Jack Bots, ATTACK!**" the pale 'genius' smashed a button on the underside of the table, immediately summoning a horde of robots and with a small smirk, Raimundo stood firm. With the utmost concentration, Raimundo began to channel his element and he crossed his arms before him. Now with his arms in an x formation, green eyes leveled with the bots as wind started swirling around his feet. Letting his eyes close, Raimundo's breaths seemed so calm, so serene as the attack grew in size and the machines got even closer.

_'A little more...'_ he thought anxiously. _'Just a little more...'_ a buzz saw was now mere inches from his face and spun dangerously before emerald eyes snapped open. **_'Now!' _**With a final smirk the torrent of wind exploded. The Jack Bots were sliced and torn repeatedly as the winds destroyed Jack's lair with the fury of a hurricane. The windows shattered, the doors rattled, the equipment sailed and poor Jack was losing everything he hid behind that wasn't bolted to the floor.

So basically he was up a creek.

As if the universe wished to spite him, it wasn't long before Jack was smacked against a wall and held there as the mini hurricane continued. Slices tore through his black ensemble and numerous cuts soon littered his face. A horrified squawk then escaped the teen as a robot's saw planted itself in the wall...

_Right next to his face..._

The winds quickly died down and as they did, Raimundo panted, now letting his arms limply hang at his sides.

His _Buster Gale_ really took a lot out of him but as he saw Jack flop to the ground, he couldn't help but give a dry chuckle. His side and arm twinged making him hiss as he stumbled a little. Leaning on a capsized worktable, Raimundo tried to take a breath as the room seemed to spin.

"Mmh...not now...I gotta...get the wu back..." Gasping, the teen pushed himself up and forced his body forward. His tan hand grabbed the large sack and after a quick check, Rai was relieved to find all the wu in one place.

"You messed with the wrong monk, Jack…Tell Chase that for me."

"Why don't you tell me yourself, Raimundo…" the Brazilian grew deathly still as a cold fear swept over him. Slowly turning around, his fears were confirmed as reptilian eyes glowed at him from the exit.

"Chase…"

_**TBC…**_

_**(1) Wudai Star: Buster Gale is, for now, Raimundo's most powerful attack. It literally creates a hurricane with gale force winds that slice and cut through anything and everything in its path. Raimundo can control the size and strength of Buster Gale to the point where he can have it surround a single person or a maximum of five. It can also be used as a protective measure as in if anyone on the outside they would be torn to shreds the second they launched an attack. However, as powerful as it is, he only uses it as a last resort since it takes so long to initiate and only when he has someone who can cover him. Once he has a distraction that will last long enough, he's ready to go.**_


End file.
